The Importance of Music
- victoria rose leon
- Jul 28, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 12, 2020
Keep in mind that this was written in 2018. However, some of the content is edited from the original post, which is now deleted.
Preface
I understand that many view music differently. However, I would like to focus on different viewpoints in this blog, the viewpoints being how differently people see music as an importance. Lastly, I got the idea for this blog after playing “Michelle” by The Beatles on the piano.
First of all, what is music?
According to Google, music is a noun. The first definition states that music is “vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” Music can be used to express various emotions, such as happiness, energy, love, sadness, and anger. However, music is also “the written or printed signs representing vocal or instrumental sound.” It may be referred to as part of musical theory, which is crucial when studying music and instruments (go on and ask me, I take theory as part of my piano lessons).
There are an abundance of genres of music. Since I don’t want to make a segment of the different genres, I guess I’ll make it into a summary. Many genres have evolved over the course of history, like classical, pop, rap, blues, jazz, and a whole lot more. The popularity of each genre depends on the type of listener. For example, rap and pop are mainly popular with our current generation.
Origins of the word “music”
Yes, Greek to Latin roots. Happens with a lot of English words.
The technical side
When playing an instrument or singing, most artists tend to look more on the artistic side, but many argue that the technique is just as important (like what happens in most arts). According to ArtWalk, the producer is primarily in charge of the technical aspects in music. The article may be focusing on music that you may hear playing on the radio, modern music. However, when it comes to music that you produce yourself using instruments, technique is important as well as creativity. When taking lessons, depending on your instrument, you do go through some technical drills with your teacher. For example, in piano, you may work on scales and technical excercises in Hanon. Excercises and drills are all dependent on your teacher and instrument. To conclude this segment, to be creative, you will need to strengthen yourself up to play.
The artistic side
Pablo Casals, cellist, once said: “The greatest respect an artist can pay to music is to give it life.” It is the artist’s job to give the music they play the life it deserves. Music deserves creativity wholeheartedly. From my experience, when doing main pieces, I would mostly play them exactly. But when I play chart chord pieces like “Michelle”, I was often advised by my teacher to improvise with the chords. Even though I felt like I had a limited imagination, I still made it out alive on improvisation. The Creativity Post states that improvisation can do wonders to the brain, and that it could activate areas in the brain that control sensory, motor, and language skills. More people appreciate the creative side of music because it’s more flexible and you have more freedom. But why is music as a whole important?
Reasons why music is important
Music is a way of expression. Artists are able to express various emotions through singing, playing an instrument, or both. Songwriters are a prime example of musical expression. When writing, you’re allowed to use any emotion (or combination of emotions) you want.
Music brings people together. Whether it could be similar taste (like us and kpop!), or new genres that you may discover, it can make a community. Music creates unity.
Everything that’s an essential part of our lives is part of music. The science in music, the history in music, everything that you’ve been taught is part of music. Well, not everything, but you get the point.
Conclusion
Music is important because it’s part of our lives, whether we like it or not. You might not have even realized it. There are different sides of music, and they’re EQUALLY important. Although it may take a toll on artists sometimes, primarily kpop artists, it’s a part of our lives. The only way that we can take care of our idols is to hope that entertainment companies change the way that they can create music, maybe get more credits and chances to produce their own songs. But universally, music is very important.
Sources
Experience
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